MORE THAN 1,800 producers and others attended the 37th annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference was in Tifton on Thursday, Jan. 17, at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center. The show is sponsored by the Georgia Peanut Commission in cooperation with the University of Georgia.

Peanut seed price, quality and supply all look good for 2013

• Seed supply should be plentiful, seed quality should be good, and seed prices should be considerably lower than last year, when there was such a tight supply on commercially available peanuts for the edible market.

While the peanut markets are expected to remain depressed going into the 2013 production season, there is some good news for producers this year.

“Seed supply should be plentiful, seed quality should be good, and seed prices should be considerably lower than last year, when there was such a tight supply on commercially available peanuts for the edible market,” said John Beasley, University of Georgia Extension peanut agronomist, at the recent Georgia Peanut Farm Show held in Tifton.

“Considering this past year’s growing conditions and high yields, we would expect the quality to be very good, assuming the fields being grown for seed production were managed properly, and provided they were harvested on time and received minimal mechanical damage during harvest,” he says.

Growers should see seed prices similar to those five or six years ago, says Beasley, with a minimum of 60 cents and a maximum in the 70 to 75-cent range as opposed to the $1.10 to $1.20 seen last year.

“Supply should be plentiful, but if you’re going to plant some of the newer cultivars, you may need to book early,” he adds.

In 2012, approximately 120,000 acres were planted in seed increase in the Southeastern U.S., with more than 90 percent of that being grown in Georgia, says Beasley.

“When you look at the acreage that was planted in the seed increase program in 2012 to produce the 2013 seed supply, including Georgia, Alabama and Florida, 77 percent of that seed increase acreage was in Georgia-06G, and Georgia numbers alone were up to 83 percent.

“That shows us the majority of the seed supply will be in Georgia-06G. When you consider the fact we’re going to need to reduce our peanut acreage this year to get our supply back in demand, we literally could plant 100 percent of the Southeast acreage in Georgia-06G this year, but we don’t need to do that.”

Spread genetics around

Beasley recommends that producers “spread the genetics around.”

“We have some really great cultivars, along with Georgia-06G. The percentage of seed increase for Tifguard, Georgia-07W, Florida-07 and Georgia Greener all were about 5 percent each. They were evenly distributed.

Then, rounding it out, were Georgia-09B at 2 percent and Florun ‘107’ at 1 percent. That gives us seven cultivars that are commercially available. There was below 1 percent seed increase in Georgia-10T, and then two newer varieties that will be grown for seed increase only in 2013, including Georgia-12Y and TUFRunner ‘727’.”

All of the seven cultivars that will be commercially available have performed well in variety trials, says Beasley.

“When you look at all the statewide variety trials in Georgia, Alabama and Florida, you could really take any one of those top seven that are commercially available, and you’d have some outstanding cultivars.

“I compare it to a horserace. A lot of people think it’s just a single horse race with a Secretariat way out in front, in the form of Georgia-06G. But that’s not the case. We have seven really good cultivars.

“I’m encouraging our growers in county meetings to look at the cultivar options, look at their traits as far as their disease resistance in the Peanut Rx program, and determine if you have a specific problem in the field, such as white mold.

“You might want to lean more towards one with increased white mold resistance such as Georgia-07W or Florida-07. Try to fit the cultivar to your fields. The maturity of these cultivars are all similar within about one week of one another, with the exception of Georgia-10T and Georgia-12Y, which are late-maturing.”

Four of the varieties are considered large-seeded runner varieties, including Georgia-06G, Georgia-07W, Florida-07 and Tifguard, says Beasley. All others would be more medium seed size, similar to the old Florunner, he adds.

This past year, Beasley and others on the University of Georgia Peanut Team began urging peanut producers to plant earlier, and they appear to be following those recommendations, he says.

“In the past three years, particularly in 2011 and 2012, we’ve seen increases in the percentage of the crop planted in April,” he says.

“We jumped from 5 percent in 2011 to 15 percent in 2012. If you go back and look at the pre-tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) days, there was a stretch when we were planting 20 to 30 percent, and 40-plus percent in some years, in April. That’s our goal today.”

The threat of TSWV forced growers to plant later, explains Beasley. However, today’s improved varieties have greater resistance to the disease, allowing producers the flexibility to plant earlier.

“In our trials from the past three years, we’ve definitely seen a higher yield at the end of April and into the first two weeks of May, and then yields drop as we approach the end of May and into June.

Losing yield on back end

“We were losing yield on the back end because of colder weather moving in during late October. The peanuts planted in June were not physiologically mature, and they shut down. We probably shouldn’t plant any peanuts in June, with an eye towards getting it wrapped up by about May 20.”

Growers should be aware of the impact of early planting and soil temperature on the rate of seed germination and plant emergence, says Beasley.

“The recommendation is for a minimum temperature of 65 degrees for several mornings, and more recent data suggests that we probably need to wait until the temperature reaches 70 degrees.

“We’re advising growers to get started earlier, but don’t start so early you jeopardize your plant stand by planting into cool soil temperatures. We’re really seeing a good yield response in that April 25-30 range.”

The following runner-type peanut cultivars currently are commercially available or will be available in the near future:

Georgia-06G is a high-yielding, large-seeded, runner-type variety developed at the UGA Coastal Plain Experiment Station, Tifton. The variety has shown a high level of resistance to tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV). Georgia-06G has an intermediate or decumbent runner growth habit, dark green foliage and medium maturity similar to Georgia Green. Georgia-06G combines high TSWV resistance with medium maturity and excellent yield, grade and dollar value return per acre.

Georgia Greener is a high-yielding, typical-seeded, runner-type variety. The variety has shown a high level of resistance to TSWV. As the name implies, it has dark green foliage, intermediate or decumbent runner growth habit and typical runner seed size. Georgia Greener also has medium maturity.

Georgia-07W is a high-yielding, TSWV and white mold-resistant, runner-type variety. The variety has shown a high level of resistance to TSWV and white mold. Georgia-07W has more of a runner growth habit, dark green foliage and medium maturity similar to Georgia Green. It offers excellent yield, grade and dollar value return per acre.

Tifguard was developed by USDA’s Agriculture Research Service in Tifton, Ga. It has resistance to nematodes so as to be characterized as “near immunity,” and it offers good yields and grades, especially in places where there would be no yield from other varieties. It offers good resistance to TSWV and maturity is similar to Georgia Green.

Florida-07 is a medium-to-late runner market-type peanut released from the University of Florida in 2006. It has shown excellent yield potential with good grades. Seed is similar in size to C-99R and, for this reason, gypsum is recommended for additional calcium. It has good to excellent resistance to TSWV, some white mold resistance and tolerance to leafspot. Florida-07 has high-oleic oil chemistry with good-to-excellent roasting, blanching and processing characteristics.

Georgia-09B is high-yielding, high-oleic, TSWV-resistant, medium-seeded, runner-type peanut variety that was released in 2009 by the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations. It was developed at the University of Georgia, Coastal Plain Experiment Station in Tifton.

Limited supply this year

Limited seed supplies will be available for Georgia-09B in the 2013 planting season, Beasley says, so growers should consider an early seed request for the upcoming growing season.

Georgia-09B originated from the first backcross made with Georgia Green as the recurrent parent. Georgia-09B has the high-oleic and low linoleic fatty acid ratio for improved oil quality and longer shelf-life of peanut and peanut products.

During the three years 2007-09, Georgia-09B was also found to have the best overall performance compared to four other high-oleic runner-types: Florida-07, York, AT-3085RO and McCloud.

Georgia-09B combines the excellent roasted flavor of Georgia Green with the high-oleic trait in a medium maturity, medium-seeded, runner-type peanut variety that has high yields, high TSMK grades, and high dollar value returns per acre.

Georgia-10T is a high-yielding, high-grading, high-TSWV resistant, large-seeded, runner-type variety peanut that was released in 2010 by the University of Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station. Georgia 10T is most similar to the multiple resistant variety Georgia-01R in later maturity.

During three years (2009-11) at multiple locations in Georgia when planted early (mid-April) and planted also in mid-May, Georgia-10T was again found to be among the lowest in TSWV incidence and TD incidence, highest in pod yield, highest in TSMK grade, and highest in dollar value return per acre compared to Tifguard and other runner-type varieties.

Georgia-10T should be an excellent variety for an earlier planting option in the Southeast because of its high-TSWV resistance and later maturity.

Florun ‘107’ is a medium-maturing (133 to 140 days), high-oleic runner market-type peanut variety with normal runner seed size similar to Florunner and Georgia Green. It has excellent resistance to TSWV.

The seed size is similar to Georgia Greener and it produces a high percentage of medium kernels in the grading process.

It has moderate resistance to white mold The maturity of Florun ‘107’ is similar to Georgia Green and requires about 135 days to mature under irrigated conditions in Florida. It will help fill the need for a medium-sized runner peanut seed with high-oleic oil chemistry.

Two new runner varieties released in 2013 include TUFRunner ‘727’ and Georgia-12Y. There will be limited seed available for 2013 for both of these new varieties.

TUFRunner ‘727’ is a medium to medium late-maturing (130 to 145 days), high-oleic, runner market type peanut cultivar with very good resistance to white mold, resistance to TSWV, and some resistance to late leaf spot.

It has a prostrate, runner growth habit with large vines and large runner seed size. Yield and grand of TUFRunner ‘727’ have been excellent. The prefix “TUF” is an acronym for the University of Florida from which it was released in 2011. It was developed at the North Florida Research and Education Center in Marianna, Fla. Seed of TUFRunner ‘727’ will be in limited supply in 2013.

Georgia-12Y is a new high-yielding, TSWV-resistant and white mold-resistant, medium-seeded, runner-type variety that was released by the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations in 2012. It was developed at the University of Georgia, Coastal Plain Experiment Station, Tifton Campus.

During three-years averaged over multi-location tests in Georgia, Georgia-12Y had significantly higher yield, dollar value return per acre, and number of seed per pound compared to Georgia-10T.

However, Georgia-10T has a higher TSMK grade than Georgia-12Y. Georgia-12Y is most similar to Georgia-10T in later maturity. Both should be excellent varieties for an early planting date option in the Southeast U.S. peanut production area.